Best time to apply for student loan

Should we start applying for loans now or wait until we know if my S will receive any scholarships, say a month from now? If we get accepted for a loan now, can we have it adjusted if he receives any scholarship money before classes begin?

If it is the student direct loan, it can be adjusted up to the disbursement date by contacting the FA office. Others can comment for parent Plus loans and private loans.

Thank you. I am wondering about the Parent Plus as well as private loans since we are not sure what direction we are going.

The loans won’t be disbursed until school starts. You can adjust.

@kelsmom…could you respond to this. I thought one couldn’t apply for these loans until 90 days before classes started. Am I making that up?

Loan applications can be done whenever the school makes the available. The school cannot process them until after July 1, because that is the earliest a loan record for the 2016-2017 year can be sent to the federal system.

Parent PLUS loans vary by school, because some use the online application at www.studentloans.gov & others have their own forms. The school may be able to set the date earlier for a PLUS loan if they do it through the studentloans.gov website, although all that will do is send the credit check out. The credit check is now good for 180 days (it used to be 90 days).